New to AA? Got questions? Here's the place to ask. Note that no one person speaks "officially" for AA. AA meetings in your local area are always the best source of information. Note that anyone may post and reply to messages in this forum.

Welcome to the forum. It all starts with walking into the rooms of AA and realizing there are others on the same boat but best of all found a solution. Grab the big book (Alcoholics Anonymous) and start reading it. The first 43 pages talks about step 1, so must be important.

Show him, from your own experience, how the peculiar mental condition surrounding that first drink prevents normal functioning of the will power (Alcoholics Anonymous, Page 92)

Yes welcome here Chased. Please feel free if there are any questions you wish to ask, there are some good folks with solid sobriety here, and also newer members like yourself.

I like to speak about the importance of the steps to members who have only been to a couple of meetings, because it seems not all meetings these days put the accent on that. My friend avaneesh who also welcomed you, sort of played a part in saving my neck when I first came here. In meetings I had gone to the steps were not really pushed as that important, and even though I was sober a while I was unhappy and struggling. He suggested I go to you tube and type in 'AA speaker Chris R.' There I heard a no nonsense speaker who had the same experience as me, in and out of AA for years and nobody really showing him the right answer. Until he found the “right” meeting, everyone with a big book and a positive message, he said two weeks later he was sitting on the tray of his truck crying tears of joy, his 5th step done and the obsession to drink gone.

That caused me to do the same thing, and get the same result, and it works for all who give it an honest try. He (Chris R) also has a big book workshop you can find on you tube, so do a couple of favorites of many AA members, if you type in 'Joe and Charlie Big Book Study,' you find some good stuff, follow along in your book if you have one, if not get one, you will not regret it, all the best to you.

"Good morning, this is your Higher Power speaking. I will not be needing your help today."

Hello Chased and welcome to E-AA. My name is Robert and I am a Los Angeles area alcoholics.

Robert
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in pretty, well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming WOW What a ride!!!!